Yin Wuyu's Discovery, Soul Control Technique

It wasn't long before Xu Qiuyan and the others returned.

"Boss!" Yin Wuyu lunged at me as soon as he entered the room, two snot strings hanging from his nose.

I quickly held him down. "Just stand there, don't move."

"Okay." He stood obediently in front of me.

I looked at Xu Qiuyan. "Are you guys really okay?"

Xu Qiuyan smiled. "What, do you wish something had happened to us?"

"But I couldn't get through to your phone just now."

Xu Qiuyan took out her phone. "My phone has been on the whole time."

I glanced at Gu Song again. Gu Song looked a bit dazed.

"Where did you guys go?"

Xu Qiuyan looked at Gu Song. "It's all his fault. He said he saw Xie Xiaotang and chased after her. I was afraid something would happen to him, so I took Dumb along to follow."

Gu Song grabbed my hand. "I really saw Xiao Tang, I swear, you have to believe me."

I asked Xu Qiuyan, "What happened next? What was going on?"

Xu Qiuyan pursed her lips. "I saw her too, but I wasn't sure if the person I saw was really Xie Xiaotang. She looked a lot like the photo, though. It's just that she didn't seem to want to see Gu Song. She ran very fast, and Sister Hong has already gone after her."

Xie Xiaotang was indeed dead.

But Gu Song said he saw her, and now even Xu Qiuyan said it was very likely her.

If it really was Xie Xiaotang, then what they saw probably wasn't human.

"As for you calling me, I really didn't receive any calls. Later, I called you because I was afraid you'd come back and worry when you didn't see us. How are things on your end?"

Just as I was about to speak, Sister Hong suddenly appeared in the room. She was back.

"Did you catch her?" Xu Qiuyan asked.

Sister Hong shook her head. "No, after chasing for a while, she vanished into thin air."

As Sister Hong spoke, her gaze fell on me, or rather, on the wooden box in my hand.

"Can I see what's inside this box?" Sister Hong asked.

I handed it over without hesitation. I trusted Xu Qiuyan, so I naturally trusted her too.

Duan Hongbin, who was sitting nearby, didn't say anything, but he was staring at Sister Hong.

Just as Sister Hong was about to take the box, Yin Wuyu snatched it away.

"Boss, is this a toy you bought for me?"

I was speechless. A young man who looked seventeen or eighteen calling it a toy was hard for me to accept.

Sister Hong's expression turned strange.

She snapped at Yin Wuyu, "Give it to me."

I frowned. Didn't she know Yin Wuyu had intellectual issues? Did she really need to get so angry at a child with the intelligence of an eight-year-old?

As she spoke, she reached out to grab the box.

Unexpectedly, Yin Wuyu hid the box behind his back.

He pointed at Sister Hong. "I've seen this sister before, she's not as pretty as in the photo."

Where had he seen Sister Hong's photo? He and Sister Hong shouldn't have had much contact.

I asked him, "Dumb, have you seen this sister's photo?"

"Mm, it's hanging on the wall in his house."

He was pointing at Gu Song.

How could there be a photo of Sister Hong hanging in Gu Song's house? I was confused for a moment.

Even Xu Qiuyan was bewildered.

Duan Hongbin stood up and blocked Sister Hong.

"I thought you were acting a bit strange, so that's what it was."

At this moment, I also realized. Gu Song's house did have a photo hanging on the wall, but it definitely wasn't Sister Hong's photo; it was Xie Xiaotang's.

"You're not Sister Hong, you're Xie Xiaotang!"

As expected, Sister Hong's appearance changed, transforming into Xie Xiaotang.

Her face was deathly pale, and her eyes looked hollow.

Gu Song's eyes widened, and his face lit up with joy. "Xiao Tang, it really is you, Xiao Tang!" He stepped forward, wanting to grab her, but Xie Xiaotang shoved him hard, sending him tumbling onto the sofa.

Her gaze never left the box. "Give it to me!"

Yin Wuyu put his hands behind his back. "No, you're a bad person, you only trick kids with toys." He sniffled, and the two snot strings receded slightly before flowing out again.

Xu Qiuyan's expression changed drastically. "Where's Sister Hong? What did you do to her?"

Xie Xiaotang completely ignored us, as if the only thing in her eyes was that box. I knew in my heart that she was here for the Twin Fish Jade Pendant.

Although I had long known that Xie Yi spreading the news would bring me some trouble, I hadn't expected the trouble to come so quickly.

At this moment, I also understood. The other party clearly knew that those thugs couldn't possibly snatch the box from me, yet they still arranged such a scene. It was all a trap set for me right here.

First, they had Xie Xiaotang appear to lure Gu Song away. Then, when Sister Hong chased Xie Xiaotang, they would find a way to trap Sister Hong. Even if they couldn't trap her, they could at least delay her. After that, Xie Xiaotang would trick them into giving her the Twin Fish Jade Pendant. This plan wasn't particularly brilliant, but it caught us completely off guard.

They only miscalculated one thing: Yin Wuyu could see through all illusions, and likewise, he could see through any disguise. Even though Xie Xiaotang was now a Ghost Body, Yin Wuyu still saw her true form.

Duan Hongbin reached out to grab Xie Xiaotang, who flinched in fear and dodged aside.

Gu Song couldn't see Duan Hongbin, but seeing Xie Xiaotang's reaction, he shielded her and glared at me, "What are you trying to do?"

I said, "Mr. Gu, we are helping her. If I'm not mistaken, she's being controlled by dark magic." Gu Song wouldn't listen, "I don't care, you can't hurt her."

I signaled to Duan Hongbin, and he retreated.

Xu Qiuyan, however, was worried about Sister Hong. She looked coldly at Xie Xiaotang, "Tell me, where is Sister Hong?"

A cold voice replied, "I'm here."

Sister Hong had arrived at some point and was standing right behind that Xie Xiaotang.

"Are you alright?" Xu Qiuyan asked with concern.

Sister Hong gave her a faint smile, "I'm fine."

This was the first time I had seen Sister Hong smile. It was very out of character for her cool and aloof persona, no, her ghost persona. Perhaps she only showed this side when facing Xu Qiuyan.

"I just wanted to see what tricks they were trying to pull," Sister Hong said, then looked at the box and frowned, "Is there a jade inside?"

I wasn't surprised that she could see what was inside. She was a Ghost Body, after all. Those eyes could probably see through anything.

"That's right, it's the Twin Fish Jade Pendant."

A rare hint of greed flashed in Sister Hong's eyes, "This is a good thing. It can nourish the soul."

She was a Ghost Body, having ascended from a soul. She usually resided in Xu Qiuyan's jade bracelet. For her, a piece of high-quality jade was indeed the best place to reside and could also improve her cultivation.

Xu Qiuyan wasn't surprised; she already knew I was going to retrieve this item.

However, Sister Hong quickly shifted her gaze. Now that she knew it was the Twin Fish Jade Pendant, she likely lost interest.

She looked at Xu Qiuyan, "You won't get anything from her. She's just a puppet right now."

She was naturally referring to Xie Xiaotang.

Xu Qiuyan asked softly, "Can you help her?"

Xu Qiuyan was kind-hearted. I knew she couldn't bear to see Gu Song like this, and she felt great sympathy for Gu Song and Xie Xiaotang's relationship.

Sister Hong pursed her lips, "There is a way." She didn't finish, her gaze shifting to me.

I was stunned. I didn't have that kind of ability.

But then her gaze skipped over me and landed on Duan Hongbin.

I asked Duan Hongbin softly, "Do you have a way?"

"I can make her soul scatter and disappear," Duan Hongbin said calmly.

I rolled my eyes at him, "I'm serious."

"Do you know why Sister Hong didn't act herself?" Duan Hongbin asked me.

I shook my head. I had originally thought Sister Hong had no way.

Duan Hongbin sighed, "I can only make her temporarily sober. I don't know how long it will last. If she's controlled by the other party again, I won't be able to suppress her. And at that time, her destructive power will be much greater than it is now, and even Sister Hong will struggle to deal with her. By then, there will be no other choice but to destroy her soul, preventing her from entering the cycle of reincarnation."

Clearly, this was not the outcome Xu Qiuyan wanted, nor, I presumed, was it what Gu Song wanted.

"She's a soul puppet right now."

I curiously pressed Duan Hongbin, "What's a soul puppet?"

"A toy in the hands of an Onmyoji. They can completely control ghosts through contracts or some special method. If the current Xie Xiaotang is like a robot, what I'm doing now is merely causing a temporary mechanical failure, allowing her to temporarily break free from the other party's control. However, this malfunction can be fixed. The other party doesn't even need to appear in person; they can complete it by casting spells in secret. Of course, it still has a certain degree of difficulty. This only requires a little time, and how much time depends on the skill level of the Onmyoji controlling her."